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Attachment 3.0

This is a photo I took in 2005 in a shop window in Barcelona. The photo shows luxury clothes, but also the expressions on the mannequins’ faces is interesting. (You can see the reflection of the ubiquitous churches in the glass.). What are they thinking, or craving?

Now what do I intend to write about? About the human feeling of attachment. I think the evolution of man has seen a change in the way attachment is felt and expressed, and the nature of attachment itself. I think we are at a respectable version 3.0 now, and it is as problem ridden as any version of Windows!

What was Attachment Version 1.0? Hark back to the days of our epics. They had attachment, but mainly to people, their families, their honour and their kingdom. They would die for their people. But people were not attached at that time so much to things. I mean creature comforts or objects of desire. Take for example King Janaka. He was willing to risk the famous Shiva’s Bow, as long as he got a suitable man for his daughter Sita. So much so that Rama broke the bow, only to be congratulated by King Janaka.

You will notice that Hanuman found Sanjivani, that would bring the dead back to life. But he did not patent it or hoard it or brand it or sell it. He was singularly lacking in a business sense… but then nobody seemed to care for things at that time.

Even in Mahabharata, we do not find people holding on to things as much as to their positions of honour and prestige. So much so that Karna gave away his divine ornaments.

That was V1.0. Attachment to people and honour. Then came V 2.0. The times of Nadir Shah and the like. The way they looted kingdoms for a diamond. Pillaged for pearls. And killed own brothren for the goodies. With V 2.0, you were attached to your precious heirlooms, things like money and assets. If you see any vintage movie, they show how a man’s will is read just after the funeral. Everyone gathers around, and nobody is mourning the death of the man as much as any denial of their share in the family fortune. They are willing to kill one another for it.

The entire modern economy developed on principles of wealth and security. This is classic V2.0, where you don’t care for people as much as for your things. In fact you deal with the company, which is called an entity. People just don’t matter!

Interestingly, the V2.0 was obseleted by the same people who created it. Of course they made lots of money as you insured your assets, and speculated on gain and appreciation of value. But nobody cares for you really, and how much you enjoy your things. In fact it is bad for the economy if you stay with things you love. It is better that you tire of them soon, sell them off, and buy new! The man who made this discovery was that magician who came selling Alauddin the new lamp for old.

So old is no longer gold. You need to replace or upgrade all the time. Not only do you upgrade your computer or TV, you upgrade everything… your clothes, your jewellery, your home, your job, your club membership, your car, your every single possession. Nothing is sacred, nothing is supposed to last. It is a replacement culture. So V 2.0 is dead!

Now we have V 3.0. You’re attached neither to things nor people. In fact you don’t know what you’re attached to. You are in fact attached only to your self image. Your self image, or Avtar, is everything. You don’t watch the same kind of movies, or listen to the same kind of music, or dine in the same restaurant. You are available to every kind of new experience. You are constantly connected to the entire world, and in fact MOST OF IT IS ONLY A VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE. You hardly deal with real, palpable things. Your world is full of You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, Internet, Email, and blogs! You can relate only to your email ID and your Avtar. Nothing else matters or has any value. In fact this is the ultimate decadence of attachment… V 3.0. That means you are infatuated only with your self image. And this is not going to change ever… it does not matter what anyone thinks…. because there is NO REAL VALUE ANYMORE.